Surprise! Accounting is the Hot New Major

There was a time when accounting was the boring
college major that many people regretted signing up for. A constant
barrage of numbers, statistics and spreadsheets was none too
interesting.

Boy, have times changed! Thanks to recent accounting scandals by
companies like Enron, there is a high demand for accountants and
auditors.

According to the Job Outlook 2014 survey, accounting comes out on
top as the most in-demand major on college campuses. Forget dot com
start ups. Cleaning up a company’s accounting books is what’s in.

But can accounting be sexy?

“All the focus on accounting created a perception to students that
accounting matters and is perhaps even sexy,” says Ira Solomon, head of
the department of accountancy at the University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign.

Colleges are scrambling to find more accounting teachers and
professors to replace those retiring. Not an easy task, since there are
twice as many accounting faculty openings than applicants to fill them.

Here are the top 10 most in-demand college majors as surveyed by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE):

If you’re good with numbers and a stickler for details, you might
want to consider accounting as a good career choice. However, you’ll
probably have to take a number and wait in line behind all those other
future accountant hopefuls.